Washington House Redux

These are musings from the past weekend – if you are looking for more stories of murder and gore from my past, skip this post.

In spite of the recent ratings slippage noted by our tough streetwise and tattooed pastor, I am still a big fan of my alma mater. The swallows returned to Capistrano this weekend, and in houses, apartments and dorm rooms all over my neighborhood the post-summer dramas ran like Shakespeare in Ashland. Are they still together? Did you see her ring? She is so not getting the bigger bedroom. He/she put on/lost weight over the summer.

Echoes of Washington House 1976-1977 rattled around in my brain as I gave of my plumbing gifts to a group of young men. In so many ways they are just like we were. But they do have more stuff – lots more stuff. The cars are generally nicer (although none I’ve seen are as cool as the Z cars of that Washington House). Where we had stereo gear they have multimedia set-ups that rival a Best Buy showroom. And clothes – these guys have more clothes than girls should. I hope they are able to find jobs that will support the lifestyle they now enjoy.

Not all of these guys are so materially endowed. Two in particular I have come to know over the past couple of years. One of them, John, is paying 100% of his way through school. That is something I did not have to do, but having one of my own in college gives me the perspective to really respect this kid. He and some buddies found a house to rent on – you guessed it – Washington Street. I considered regaling them with the escapades of Washington House 1976, but realized they do not have the depth yet to truly appreciate those tales. They live in the here and now. In 29 years they will look back.

Washington House 2006 is a dump; slated for demolition at the end of the school year, this place appears not to have been cleaned or maintained since Charles took over the presidency from his father. The lone bathroom was moldy, gross and water damaged. So I spent the day replacing leaky pipes and fittings and supervising the installation of a new vinyl floor. Tonight I will reseat the toilet and hook up the new pedestal sink. All told I am out of pocket a little over $200 - my gift and one that I am happy to give.

As in any multi-person living arrangement there are those who do most of the work and those who do the bare minimum. And, for the most part, their girlfriends are good matches – the hard working boys have hard working girls and the do-little boys have do-little girls. I think the girls are generally better looking now than they were back then. This is probably due to the fact that I look at them with a father’s charitable eye that can appreciate what they will eventually grow into. They are all, male and female, pretty clueless - how can you not be at that age?

A few parents stopped by – I think they did not know what to make of the sweaty, balding, overweight, middle-aged plumber who was unrelated to any of the house’s inhabitants. One mom, someone you know, asked me in her most confrontational voice if I was the owner. I think she wanted someone to sue. Not that I blame her, I would turn the landlord over to the city but that would only mean that these guys would lose their cheap place to live.

About midnight the love of my life called to tell me that I was too old to keep college student hours and to remind me that my day job was only seven hours away. John and I, with the scent and patina unique to disgusting bathrooms, climbed into my car for the short ride home. I am looking forward to this evening.

Yak, yb, C, Reeser, Noswad & Toad - thanks for the great memories.